Acquittals

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General how many judge-ordered acquittals there were in (a) 2012-13 and (b) each of the preceding 10 years.

Oliver Heald: the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) maintains a central record of the number of judge ordered acquittals reported in cases it has handled for the last nine financial years. The number of recorded cases is contained in the following table.
	
		
			  Judge ordered acquittals 
			 2004-05 13,955 
			 2005-06 12,663 
			 2006-07 12,290 
			 2007-08 12,509 
			 2008-09 12,198 
			 2009-10 12,930 
			 2010-11 15,041 
			 2011-12 12,670 
			 2012-13 11,338

Buildings

John Mann: To ask the Attorney-General what the total running costs were for each building used, owned or rented in central London by the Law Officers' Departments, their agencies and non-departmental public bodies in each of the last three financial years.

Oliver Heald: The total running costs for each building in central London used or rented by the Crown Prosecution Service in each of the last three financial years is as follows:
	
		
			 £ 
			 Building 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 
			 Rose Court, SE1 4,574,581 4,156,168 5,853,816 
			 The Cooperage, SE1 1,607,265 1,896,631 1,685,557 
			 Drummond Gate, SW1 n/a n/a 2,555,012 
			 Artillery Row, SW1 212,653 316,209 280,835 
			 New Kings Beam House, SE1 3,000,000 1,500,000 n/a 
			 50 Ludgate Hill, EC4 1,262,484 n/a n/a 
		
	
	The Serious Fraud Office's moved to new premises in Cockspur Street in November 2012; prior to this it leased Elm House in Elm Street and the ITN building at 200 Grays Inn Road.
	These lease expired in December 2012. The total running costs for these buildings was £4,807,183 in 2010-11, £4,353,583 in 2011-12 and £4,358,925 in 2012-13.
	The total net running costs for each building rented by TSol, HMCPSI and AGO in central London in the last year financial years were as follows:
	
		
			 £ 
			  2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 
			 TSol:    
			 One Kemble Street, London, WC2B 4TS. Floors 4-15 5,154,103 4,892,827 4,941,748 
			 HMCPSI:    
			 26-28 Old Queen Street, London, SW1H 9HP (until September 2011) (from April 2011) One Kemble Street, London, WC2B 4TS 597,030 465,698 205,282 
			 AGO:    
			 20 Victoria Street, London SW1H ONF 1,076,539 775,582 777,293 
		
	
	A number of TSol staff are co-located in other Government Buildings in central London where they provide legal advice to Departments based there. The running costs for these properties are not included in this response.

Convictions

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General what the conviction rate is for each regional division of the Crown Prosecution Service for (a) all offences, (b) offences against the person, (c) burglary, (d) drugs offences and (e) fraud.

Oliver Heald: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) maintains a central record of the outcomes of cases according to the case's principal offence category (POC). The POC indicates the most serious offence with which a defendant is charged at the time a case is finalised. The conviction rates for the 2012-13 period are as contained in the following table.
	
		
			 Percentage 
			  All Cases Offences Against the Person Burglary Drugs Offences Fraud 
			 Cymru Wales 87.7 78.7 87.1 95.3 85.6 
			 Eastern 88.7 81.1 88.6 94.9 88.7 
			 East Midlands 86.1 76.7 83.4 93.3 84.4 
			 London 80.5 66.3 76.2 92.7 81.6 
			 Merseyside and Cheshire 87.9 77.4 88.1 92.9 87.4 
			 North East 86.1 75.1 87.7 93.9 89.9 
			 North West 87.3 77.2 87.9 94.0 87.6 
			 South East 85.8 75.1 83.6 93.7 83.7 
			 South West 86.8 77.6 88.1 94.5 . 88.8 
			 Thames and Chiltern 85.4 72.4 83.0 93.0 85.0 
			 Wessex 84.4 74.9 85.4 94.4 88.6 
			 West Midlands 86.4 75.8 85.4 94.1 86.2 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside 85.9 76.6 83.6 93.2 81.6

Crown Prosecution Service

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney General what proportion of advocacy conducted by barristers and solicitors in each regional division of the Crown Prosecution Service is provided (a) in-house and (b) externally.

Oliver Heald: In relation to Crown Court and Higher Courts advocacy the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) maintains records of the proportion of work undertaken by in-house and external advocates in value terms, by reference to advocate fees payable in accordance with CPS fee schemes. The national and area positions for 2012-13 are detailed in the following table.
	
		
			 2012-13—CPS Crown Court and Higher Courts Advocacy by value 
			 Percentage 
			  In-house advocacy External advocacy 
			 13 CPS areas 28 72 
			    
			 Cymru Wales 27 73 
			 East of England 35 65 
			 East Midlands 22 78 
			 London 19 81 
			 Merseyside and Cheshire 24 76 
			 North East 33 67 
			 North West 31 69 
			 South East 31 69 
			 South West 29 71 
			 Thames and Chiltern 32 68 
			 Wessex 41 59 
			 West Midlands 43 57 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside 30 70 
		
	
	In relation to magistrates courts advocacy the CPS maintains records of the number and proportion of half-day sessions conducted by in-house and external advocates. The national and area positions for 2012-13 are detailed in the following table.
	
		
			 2012-13—CPS Magistrates Courts Sessions 
			 Percentage 
			  Covered by in-house associate prosecutors Covered by in-house solicitors and barristers Covered by external advocates 
			 13 CPS areas 32 48 20 
			     
			 Cymru Wales 36 56 8 
			 East of England 32 53 16 
			 East Midlands 29 38 33 
			 London 31 38 31 
			 Merseyside and Cheshire 33 64 3 
			 North East 25 54 21 
			 North West 34 53 13 
			 South East 28' 54 17 
			 South West 24 44 32 
			 Thames and Chiltern 29 58 13 
			 Wessex 32 64 4 
		
	
	
		
			 West Midlands 33 53 14 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside 45 29 26 
		
	
	The classification of in-house advocates includes associate prosecutors, who are not solicitors or barristers but are the equivalent of legal executives.

Prosecutions

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General how many prosecutions were discontinued in the magistrates' court because the summons was withdrawn in (a) 2012-13 and (b) each of the preceding 10 years.

Oliver Heald: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) holds figures for the number of prosecutions (by defendant) withdrawn in the magistrates court, for the last nine financial years. This data includes prosecutions commenced by both charging and by summons, which cannot be disaggregated without incurring disproportionate cost.
	
		
			  Prosecutions with outcome—withdrawn (magistrates court) 
			 2004-05 66,749 
			 2005-06 48,568 
			 2006-07 35,204 
			 2007-08 29,292 
			 2008-09 24,522 
			 2009-10 22,857 
			 2010-11 22,085 
			 2011-12 20,274 
			 2012-13 17,250

Prosecutions

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General how many cases were dropped on (a) evidential and (b) public interest grounds in (i) 2012-13 and (ii) each of the preceding 10 years.

Oliver Heald: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) maintains a central record of the reasons for dropping cases for the last nine financial years only. Figures for earlier years could be provided only at a disproportionate cost.
	The number of CPS prosecutions (by defendant) dropped for either evidential or public interest reasons are outlined in the following table.
	
		
			  Dropped for evidential reasons Dropped for public interest reasons 
			 2004-05 59,770 26,767 
			 2005-06 62,643 27,791 
			 2006-07 56,818 26,162 
			 2007-08 51,951 24,754 
			 2008-09 47,814 20,063 
			 2009-10 46,314 20,910 
			 2010-11 48,682 21,707 
			 2011-12 44,084 20,555 
			 2012-13 38,413 18,207 
		
	
	Dropped cases include those where the CPS discontinue, withdraw or offer no evidence; or where the prosecution or indictment is stayed or charges are left to lie on file.

Drugs: Misuse

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the current level of sales of legal highs and of recent trends in such sales.

Jeremy Browne: No estimate has been made of levels and trends in overall sales of 'legal highs' containing new psychoactive substances (NPS) which are not controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 in the UK.
	However, the Government and our independent drug experts, the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, continue to monitor the emergence of NPS through UK and EU drugs early warning systems. These include the Home Office's Forensic Early Warning System (FEWS) which identifies and monitors the emergence of NPS (controlled and non-controlled) in the UK. The first annual report of the FEWS we published last year is available at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/98031/fews.pdf

Police: Recruitment

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent changes have been introduced in relation to the recruitment of police officers; and what assessment she plans to make of recruitment levels of officers from (a) black and minority ethnic communities and (b) deprived communities.

Damian Green: The Government wants to attract the best people to careers in policing to ensure forces are best able to fight crime and keep communities safe. Following the recommendations of the Independent Review of Police Terms and Conditions led by Tom Winsor, the Government will introduce new recruitment criteria for officers at constable rank to include relevant policing experience and knowledge of policing or a level 3 qualification. We are also introducing direct entry at senior ranks of the police to open up the police and improve leadership.
	We believe a workforce that is more representative of the communities it serves is a vital element in building trust and confidence in policing. We do not collect data specifically on recruitment from deprived communities. We do collect and publish data on Black and Minority Ethnic representation in the police workforce, which shows that the police have made good progress, but there is much further to go if forces are to reflect better the communities they serve. We will continue to work with forces, the College of Policing and other partners to ensure police has a diverse and high-quality workforce.

UK Border Agency: Scotland

Pamela Nash: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many UK Border Agency staff in Scotland have been re-employed by that Agency having previously been made redundant in each of the last 3 years.

Mark Harper: There have been no staff re-employed by the Home Office, formerly the UK Border Agency, that were previously made redundant in any of the last three years.

Coroners: Teesside

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether the review by the Office for Judicial Complaints of the performance of the Teesside Coroner has been completed; and when the findings of that review will be made public.

Helen Grant: The Office for Judicial Complaints is investigating the conduct of Her Majesty's Coroner for Teesside and will report to the Lord Chancellor, and the Lord Chief Justice once it has completed the prescribed procedures as required by the Judicial Discipline (Prescribed Procedures) Regulations 2006 (as amended).

Crime: Victims

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the respective roles are of a victim's commissioner and a police and crime commissioner in relation to victims.

Helen Grant: The Victims' Commissioner and Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) perform quite separate functions in relation to victims.
	The role of the Victims' Commissioner is to ensure the voice of victims and witnesses are heard at the heart of Government, making sure their needs in relation to the whole criminal justice system are represented. The Commissioner will also keep under review the operation of the statutory Victims' Code and its use by Criminal Justice Agencies. The Victims' Commissioner has no powers to award grants and has no commissioning powers.
	Police and Crime Commissioners have a duty to consult with victims on issues of policing providing victims of crime with a voice at a local level. PCCs will also be responsible for the commissioning of the majority of victims support services at a local level from 2014.

Crime: Victims

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps his Department has taken to provide assistance with emotional, legal and practical problems to victims' families who were bereaved before the implementation of the Victim Support National Homicide Service in November 2010.

Helen Grant: The Victim Support National Homicide Service began operating in April 2010. Several specialist organisations provide vital and expert support to those bereaved by homicide prior to the implementation of the Homicide Service. The following organisations have received funding from the Ministry of Justice:
	
		
			 £ 
			  Financial year (1 March to 30 April) 
			 Organisation 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 
			 Support After Murder and Manslaughter (SAMM) 140,000 — — — 
		
	
	
		
			 ASSIST Trauma Care — 95,000 60,000 60,000 
			 Winston's Wish — — 20,000 20,000 
			 Cruse Bereavement Care — — 20,000 20,000 
		
	
	The Ministry of Justice is also providing £250,000 in grant funding during the 2012-13 and 2013-14 financial years to 13 organisations that provide peer support to those bereaved by homicide. Following the report into homicide of the previous Victims' Commissioner, Louise Casey, the Government extended the provision for trauma and bereavement support for homicide victims. This enables the Government-funded peer support organisations—in addition to other services they provide—to refer clients who were bereaved prior to April 2010 for specialist trauma and bereavement support to the three organisations currently receiving grants that are shown in the table above.

Work Capability Assessment: Appeals

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the cost to his Department of appeals against the work capability assessment in 2012-13.

Helen Grant: HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) hears appeals against Department for Work and Pensions decisions on entitlement to employment and support allowance (ESA) (decisions in which the work capability assessment is a key factor) rather than appeals against work capability assessment decisions themselves.
	The estimated total cost of the 163,250 ESA appeals in which the work capability assessment was a factor disposed of during the period April to December 2012 (the latest period for which data has been published) is £37 million.
	These estimated costs were calculated by multiplying the average cost of an individual First-tier Tribunal—Social Security and Child Support case in 2011-12 (the latest period for which this data is available) by the number of ESA appeals disposed of, in which the work capability assessment was a factor.
	The average cost of an appeal in 2011-12 was £228. This is a reduction from £239 in 2010-11 and £293 in 2009-10. Since 2009-10, the average cost of an appeal has reduced by 22%. HMCTS constantly reviews and looks continuously to improve its administrative processes in order to continue to drive down the costs of SSCS appeals.

G4S

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what the current level of expenditure by his Department is on contracts with G4S; and how much was spent by his Department on contracts with G4S in each year since 2008.

David Mundell: The Scotland Office has a contract with G4S to provide 24 hour security at its Edinburgh office in Melville Crescent. The total cost since 2008 is shown in the following table:
	
		
			 Financial year Expenditure (£) 
			 2007-08 90,327 
			 2008-09 88,669 
			 2009-10 76,986 
			 2010-11 90,998 
			 2011-12 87,888 
			 2012-13 92,940

Welfare State: Reform

Eilidh Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many bilateral meetings (a) he and (b) Ministers in his Department have had with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions or other Ministers in that department to discuss the effects of welfare reform in Scotland since 1 June 2010.

David Mundell: The Secretary of State for Scotland, the right hon. Member for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk (Michael Moore), and I are in regular contact with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, my right hon. Friend the Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Mr Duncan Smith), and other Ministers in that Department on a range of issues relating to welfare reform in Scotland.

G4S

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the current level of expenditure by her Department is on contracts with G4S; and how much was spent by her Department on contracts with G4S in each year since 2008.

Michael Penning: Following the devolution of policing and justice functions on 12 April 2010, and subsequent reconfiguration of the Northern Ireland Office, my department does not hold figures for the periods prior to 2010; attempting to obtain this information would incur disproportionate cost
	My Department avails of a Department of Finance and Personnel NI contract with G4S for the provision of security guard services at its two sites in Northern Ireland. The levels of spending on this service since 2010 are as follows:
	
		
			  £ 
			 2010-11 97,140 
			 2011-12 55,252 
			 2012-13 91,675

Inflation

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if she will list the purposes for which her Department uses (a) the retail price index measure of inflation, (b) the consumer price index measure of inflation and (c) any alternative measure of inflation.

Theresa Villiers: My Department does not use either the retail price index or the consumer price index for any purpose.
	In order to meet Government accounting requirements, my Department uses a combination of the Office for National Statistics Tax and Price Index and specific indices for specialised buildings and land supplied by Land and Property Services, Department of Finance and Personnel NI.

Afghanistan

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his Department's procedures for investigating alleged civilian deaths following unmanned aerial vehicle strikes in Afghanistan are; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Robathan: There are strict procedures, frequently updated in light of experience, intended to both minimise the risk of casualties occurring and to investigate any incidents that do happen. Any occasion on which a precision-guided weapon is released by an aircraft, whether manned or remotely piloted, is reviewed and where appropriate further investigations are initiated, including all instances in which a possible civilian casualty is reported.

Aircraft Carriers

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has for the future basing of the Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carrier when overseas.

Andrew Robathan: There is no intention to base Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers overseas; the base port for the Class is Her Majesty's Naval Base Portsmouth.

Kenya

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions his Department has had with the Kenyan government in relation to the operation of UK unmanned aerial vehicles within its territory.

Andrew Robathan: The British Army Training Unit Kenya uses hand launched, unarmed, tactical unmanned aerial vehicles (such as the Desert Hawk III) for the purpose of training ground units. Manned aircraft are also used to simulate the intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance effects of larger UAVs.
	This has been agreed with both the Kenyan Ministry of Defence and the Kenyan Civil Aviation Authority. Individual flights are notified to the Kenyan authorities.

Festivals and Special Occasions

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent estimates she has made of the effect of small festivals with fewer than 5,000 attendees on the (a) national and (b) local economy.

Edward Vaizey: The Arts Council England recently published an independent report by the Centre for Economics and Business Research that showed arts and culture provided £5.9 billion of gross value added in 2011. We also know that Music and Visual and Performing Arts, contributed over £4 billion in GVA terms to the UK economy in 2009, exporting £286 million in 2009 and employing 293,000 in 2010. The artistic and cultural sectors, including small festivals, remain a vital contributor to wealth generation, tourism and increasing the country's reputation domestically and internationally for trade and visitors. The Government continues to examine the contribution that this sector makes.

Public Libraries: Electronic Publishing

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport with reference to the recommendations of the Independent Review of E-lending in Public Libraries in England, published in March 2013, when lending rights will be extended to (a) e-books and audiobooks lent on library premises and (b) e-books lent remotely.

Edward Vaizey: holding answer 15 May 2013
	The Government response to William Sieghart’s review of e-lending in public libraries in England was published on 27 March 2013 and sets out the Government's position in terms of extending public lending right (PLR) to audiobooks and ebooks:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/an-independent-review-of-e-lending-in-public-libraries-in-england
	Any proposal for the potential extension of PLR will be communicated in due course, following full consideration of this matter.

Theatre

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will take steps to prevent the closure of local theatres as a result of local authority spending reductions.

Edward Vaizey: holding answer sent 14 May 2013
	Decisions on funding for the arts in this country are made at arm's length of Government by Arts Council England (ACE). ACE works closely with local authorities to share and discuss priorities, but this Government firmly believes that it is for local authorities to determine, in consultation with their communities, their priorities for spending.
	ACE funds 179 theatre organisations through Grant in Aid funding, including the Civic in Barnsley, and also invests lottery funding in the theatre sector: Catalyst funding, which helps arts organisations increase their fundraising capacity, has been awarded to 49 theatre organisations; a strategic touring fund of £15 million per year from 2012, has, in its first year, supported 17 theatre touring projects; and five of ACE's 17 digital R and D fund awards have been made to theatre projects.

Buildings

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the total running costs were for each building used, owned or rented in central London by his Department, its agencies and non-departmental public bodies in each of the last three financial years.

Norman Baker: The requested information is not centrally recorded in the format requested and this could only be obtained at disproportionate costs.
	However, the Department does publish information on the running costs of certain occupied administrative offices as part of the annual Cabinet Office Property Benchmarking programme. Further information is available on the Data.Gov website:
	http://data.gov.uk/dataset/epims

Bus Services: Concessions

Robin Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the (a) overall and (b) unit cost is of providing free bus travel to pensioners in (i) Worcester, (ii) Worcestershire and (iii) England.

Norman Baker: The Department for Transport carries out surveys of Travel Concession Authorities (TCAs) each year. The available information for reimbursement made to bus operators for concessionary travel for older and disabled people in 2011/12 is shown in the table below:
	
		
			  Total cost (£ million) Unit reimbursement cost per journey (pence) 
			 English non-metropolitan areas 434 95 
			 England 898 84 
		
	
	In addition TCAs will incur administration costs, including staff costs and pass issuing costs. We do not hold information for these additional costs of administering the scheme.
	Further information, including forecasts of reimbursement for 2012/13, is published in the Bus08 series of tables at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/bus08-concessionary-travel
	The information for Worcestershire is subject to restrictions on the use of commercial data collected by the TCA from bus operators.
	The Department does not have information for Worcester as it is a lower tier local authority which is not a TCA.

Motor Vehicles: Testing

Robert Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of whether the recently negotiated Council of Ministers' position on the European Commission's proposals for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on periodic roadworthiness tests for motor vehicles and their trailers and repealing Directive 2009/40/EC would require the UK and other member states to introduce domestic legislation in order to remove the exemption of mobile cranes from undergoing roadworthiness testing.

Stephen Hammond: It is our view that if the recently negotiated Council of Ministers' position were reflected in a finally approved directive, that the exemption of mobile cranes in domestic legislation from roadworthiness tests may need to be removed. However the directive has not yet been finalised. Negotiations continue with MEPs considering and amending the original proposal prior to it being put as a Bill before the European Parliament.

Motorways: Speed Limits

John Leech: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the potential increase in the cost of car insurance if the motorway speed limit were raised to eighty miles-per-hour;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the potential increase in damage to road surfaces and fixtures if the motorway speed limit were raised to eighty miles-per-hour;
	(3)  what assessment he has made of the potential increase in the number of people killed or seriously injured in road traffic accidents if the motorway speed limit were raised to eighty miles-per-hour;
	(4)  whether he has made an estimate of the potential increase in costs to drivers of increased fuel usage arising from an increase in the motorway speed limit to 80 miles per hour;
	(5)  what assessment he has made of the road infrastructure costs involved in raising the motorway speed limit to 80 miles per hour;
	(6)  what assessment he has made of the potential increase in carbon emissions if the motorway speed limit were raised to eighty miles per hour.

Stephen Hammond: We have been working to assess the potential economic, safety and environmental impacts of trialling 80 mph speed limits across a number of sites on the motorway network. That work is not yet complete and we would consult on the potential impacts before proceeding with trials.

Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012

Hazel Blears: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many contracts issued as part of the high-level output specification project, have used clauses contained within the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 to date.

Simon Burns: No contracts have been let by the Department to which the provisions might apply since the provision came into force on 31 January 2013.

Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012

Hazel Blears: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps his Department is taking to implement the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 in its procurement procedures; and what guidance he has given to his Department's executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies on implementation of that Act.

Norman Baker: The Department for Transport has embedded consideration of the Act's provisions in its procedures at the requirement conception stage, rather than focusing solely on the procurement process. This picks up the requirement of the Act to consider social impact at the pre-procurement stage. This is reflected in our models for option assessment, business case templates, management assurance and consultation guidance. The Act is also referenced in the Department's procurement guidance and assurance process. All of these provisions are applicable to, and were explained in a briefing open to all procurement staff, in the Department, its executive agencies and non-departmental bodies.

Railways: Franchises

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many staff from (a) his Department and (b) other government departments are involved in negotiations with the incumbent franchisee for an extended rail passenger service contract on the (i) Essex Thameside, (ii) Thameslink, (iii) Inter City West Coast, (iv) Great Western, (v) Greater Anglia, (vi) Northern, (vii) London Midland, (viii) East Midlands and (ix) South Eastern line.

Simon Burns: As of the end of March 2013, the number of Department of Transport staff directly involved in negotiations with the incumbent franchisees for the extended rail passenger service contracts were (i) six staff for c2c (Essex Thameside), (ii) nil for First Capital Connect (Thameslink), (iii) nil for Intercity West Coast, (iv) eight staff for First Great Western, (v) nil for Greater Anglia, (vi) nil for Northern, (vii) nil for London Midland, (viii) nil for East Midlands and (ix) nil for South Eastern. No staff from other Government Departments are directly involved in negotiations with the incumbent franchisee for the extended rail passenger service contracts.

Transport: Nottinghamshire

Mark Spencer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what assessment his Department has made of current transport infrastructure in former coalfield villages in Sherwood constituency;
	(2)  what the average investment in rail infrastructure has been in each parliamentary constituency since 2010;
	(3)  how much investment in rail infrastructure there has been in (a) Sherwood constituency and (b) Nottinghamshire since 2000.

Norman Baker: The Department for Transport has made no assessment of current transport infrastructure in the Sherwood Constituency, as Nottinghamshire County Council is responsible for assessing transport infrastructure within Nottinghamshire and this is set out in their Local Transport Plan for 2011-2026.
	HM Treasury's Public Expenditure Statistical Analysis (PESA) tables do provide a regional breakdown of total transport spend. This can be found at the following link:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/public-expenditure-statistical-analyses-2012
	The Department does not hold information on rail infrastructure spending at a parliamentary constituency level.

Civil Nuclear Constabulary: Firearms

Tony Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the status is of those civil nuclear police officers who are unable to carry firearms as a result of illness or injury.

Michael Fallon: Civil Nuclear Constabulary (CNC) Authorised Firearms Officers (AFO) who are unable to carry firearms due to illness or injury retain their contractual AFO status. However, they are treated as non-deployable with immediate effect and, depending on the long term prognosis, will either return to AFO duties or will be managed through the CNC's performance or capability processes.

Energy

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent discussions he has had with Ofgem regarding energy efficiency targets for energy companies.

Michael Fallon: The Department is in regular contact with Ofgem in relation to the energy efficiency schemes which the Government imposes on energy companies. The administration and enforcement of these schemes is a matter for Ofgem.

Energy: Competition

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change with reference to the answer of 14 March 2013, Official Report, column 465, on energy market competition, 
	(1)  when the actions of Ofgem and industry to improve liquidity in the wholesale power market will be assessed on their effectiveness;
	(2)  by what criteria his Department will judge whether the actions of Ofgem and industry to improve liquidity in the wholesale power market have been insufficient.

Michael Fallon: Poor liquidity in the wholesale market, in particular in the forward markets, is acting as a barrier to entry and greater competition. Ofgem is currently taking forward reforms to address this issue.
	We support Ofgem's objectives and are keen to see swift and appropriate action from the regulator. We are therefore encouraged by Ofgem's strong preference, in its latest consultation, for intervention, with a decision expected by summer 2013. We will assess the effectiveness of its reforms once we see the final proposed intervention options.
	Government are seeking backstop powers through the current Energy Bill to address low liquidity if necessary, but Ofgem remains the primary vehicle for delivering any necessary regulatory intervention. It is important that their reform process is allowed to come to a decision before considering whether the proposals are sufficient to improve liquidity.

Energy: Housing

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change 
	(1)  how many properties were connected to the gas distribution network in (a) 2009, (b) 2010, (c) 2011 and (d) 2012;
	(2)  how many households in (a) the UK, (b) England, (c) Scotland, (d) Wales and (e) Northern Ireland are off the mains gas grid; and what percentage of off-grid households in (i) the UK, (ii) England, (iii) Scotland, (iv) Wales and (v) Northern Ireland are within 500 metres of the gas grid.

Michael Fallon: Annual statistics on the number of gas meters are available on the Department’s website for the years 2005 to 2011, Data for 2012 will be published in December 2013. It is estimated that 22.58 million households were connected to the gas distribution network in 2009; 22.72 million in 2010 and 22.84 million in 2011.
	For 2011, it is estimated that 4.46 million homes in Great Britain did not have access to the gas network; 3.33 million of these households were in England, 0.83 million in Scotland and 0.27 million in Wales. Data on gas connections in Northern Ireland, and data on the number of households within 500 metres of the gas grid, are not held by DECC.
	The off gas grid estimates have been produced based on information from the Gemserv database on the location of electricity meters, and data from xoserve and independent gas transporters on the location of gas meters, which are used to produce the Department’s sub-national energy statistics for Great Britain. Subtracting the number of gas meters from the number of electricity meters produces a broad estimate of the number of homes that do not have access to the gas network. It should be noted that these estimates will overestimate the number of homes due to some homes having more than one electricity meter, and also that the statistics may include non-domestic gas meters.
	Details of all methodologies used to compile the statistics can be found at:
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/statistics/regional/regional.aspx
	Sub-national data showing the number of gas meters and consumption can be found at:
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/statistics/energy_stats/regional/gas/gas.aspx

Energy: Housing

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of network owners' commitment to connect an additional 80,000 homes in fuel poverty to the gas distribution network.

Gregory Barker: The Department supports this scheme, and the efforts of Ofgem and the Gas Network Owners to extend the grid to vulnerable households for whom a gas connection could mean lower energy costs. However we believe the promotion and operation of this scheme is a matter for the energy regulator and the network owners.
	I am aware that Ofgem are planning a review of this scheme next year to assess whether it still serves as a suitable solution for vulnerable customers, we will be engaging with Ofgem and await the findings of this review.

Energy: Housing

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether his Department provides assistance to households within 500 metres of the gas grid to enable them to seek connection.

Michael Fallon: The Department does not currently provide any assistance to households within 500 metres of the gas grid to enable them to seek gas connection. Ofgem is responsible for regulating the extension of the gas grid, and individual connections are a matter for the local Gas Distribution Networks (GDNs).
	DECC are currently promoting alternative, low carbon, options for off-grid consumers through the Renewable Heat Premium Payment Scheme (RHPP) which provides grants towards renewable heating systems, including ground and air source heat pumps, biomass boilers, and solar thermal heaters. These technologies have the ability to bring down fuel bills in comparison to heating oil and LPG which are most commonly used by off-grid consumers.
	DECC has extended the RHPP scheme to provide on-going support for the domestic renewable heat market, ahead of the launch of the Domestic Renewable Heat Incentive in 2014.

Energy: Housing

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much the cost of heating an average home with (a) propane and home fuel oil and (b) gas has changed in each year since 2009.

Michael Fallon: DECC does not hold data on average consumption levels of households using propane and home fuel oil, and as such does not produce average costs for these. However, data from fuel components of the retail price index shows that the prices of propane and home fuel oil and gas changed as follows between 2009 and 2012:
	
		
			  (a) Propane and home fuel oil (b) Gas 
			 2009 126.4 193.5 
			 2010 161.2 182.0 
			 2011 201.4 201.4 
			 2012 206.8 222.8 
		
	
	These data are shown in the form of an index, where costs in 2005 are set to 100, and subsequent years are shown relative to that year.

Energy: Job Creation

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the number of jobs created in (a) renewable energy, (b) nuclear power and (c) network providers in (i) the UK, (ii) England, (iii) Scotland, (iv) Wales and (v) Northern Ireland in (A) 2009, (B) 2010, (C) 2011 and (D) 2012.

Michael Fallon: In response to part (a), the Department does not currently collect this information in the format requested.
	Between 1 April 2011 and 31 July 2012, DECC has collated renewable announcements that have the potential to support around 22,800 jobs across the UK.
	We are currently revising our methodology for collecting data on jobs created in the renewable energy sector and intend to publish up to date jobs figures shortly.
	In response to part (b), the Department cannot provide a specific breakdown of the number of jobs created in nuclear power, however, the Nuclear Industry Association have produced 'Jobs Maps' detailing the number of employees by parliamentary constituency in the UK Civil Nuclear Industry for the years 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012. Note that for 2012 there are maps for the UK as a whole and one for Scotland. The documents containing this information will be placed in the Libraries of the House.
	In response to part (c), the Department does not collect this information, though the network providers in these countries may do.

Energy: Prices

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change with reference to the answer of 25 February 2013, Official Report, column 238W, on energy, what estimate his Department has made of the average household saving as a result of his proposals to move people to the cheapest energy tariff that meets their preferences.

Gregory Barker: Under our proposals suppliers would move customers off poor value dead tariffs and on to the cheapest tariff that meets their preferences. In its retail market review, Ofgem have estimated that there are over 650 dead tariffs and we would expect more to be created as a result of the introduction of a tariff cap. Whether or not these are of poor value so that a customer is moved to a cheaper tariff and the level savings made from this will depend on the tariffs a supplier is offering at that point. This will be a commercial decision for each supplier.

Energy: Prices

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change with reference to the answer of 25 February 2013, Official Report, column 238W, on energy, what estimate his Department has made of the number of households that will be moved to a cheaper energy tariff as a result of the proposals contained in the Energy Bill.

Gregory Barker: Under our proposals suppliers would have to move customers off poor value dead tariffs. In its retail market review, Ofgem have estimated that there are over 650 dead tariffs and we would expect more to be created as a result of the introduction of a tariff cap. Whether or not these are of poor value so that a customer is moved to a cheaper tariff will depend on the tariffs a supplier is offering at that point. This will be a commercial decision for each supplier.

Energy: Prices

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change with reference to the answer of 14 March 2013, Official Report, column 458, on energy bills, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of decarbonising the power sector by 2030 on consumer energy bills.

Gregory Barker: The Government have recently published its assessment of the impacts of energy and climate change policies on consumer energy bills(1). This shows that taken together, these policies mean that household energy bills will be on average 11%, or £166, lower in 2020 than if the policies had not been introduced. On average, energy efficiency savings from policies are expected to more than offset the necessary costs of supporting low carbon investment.
	Taking account of the impact of low carbon generating plant on the wholesale electricity price (‘merit order impacts’), policies to support decarbonisation of electricity supply (Electricity Market Reform, EU ETS, the Carbon Price Floor and Renewables Obligation) currently add around 4% to household energy bills (including VAT). By 2020 it is estimated that these policies will add an average of around 10% to household bills (including VAT). These impacts are consistent with a scenario where the carbon intensity of grid electricity supply is reduced to 100gCO2 per kWh by 2030.
	Decarbonising the power sector will help reduce the UK's exposure to volatile fossil fuel prices and over the long term consumers stand to benefit from cleaner, cheaper and more reliable sources of low carbon energy:
	(1) https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/172923/130326_-_Price_and_Bill_Impacts_Report_Final.pdf

Energy: Prices

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change with reference to the answer of 27 February 2013, Official Report , column 494W, on energy: billing, what methodology his Department plans to use to establish what the cheapest tariff that meets consumers' preference is.

Gregory Barker: The powers in the Energy Bill relating to tariffs are designed to be backstop powers to ensure that Government can take action to implement my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister's commitment to ensure consumers are on the cheapest tariff for them, should Ofgem's Retail Market Reform proposals not deliver or be frustrated or delayed.
	Ofgem have set out a methodology for assessing a supplier's cheapest tariff in their retail market review final domestic proposals which can be found at:
	http://www.ofgem.gov.uk/Markets/RetMkts/rmr/Documents1/The%20Retail%20Market%20Review%20-%20Final%20domestic%20proposals.pdf

Green Deal Scheme

Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many (a) assessments have been undertaken, (b) households have signed up to an installation and (c) households have received an installation under the Green Deal to date.

Gregory Barker: holding answer 14 May 2013
	Up to the end of April 2013, there had been 18,816 Green Deal Assessments in Great Britain lodged, as reported in the following statistics release:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/green-deal-and-energy-company-obligation-eco-monthly-statistics-may-2013
	The next monthly statistical release is planned for publication on 27 June 2013 and will contain, for the first time, information on Green Deal Plans taken out and measures installed through the Green Deal and Energy Company Obligation.

Hinkley Point C Power Station

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will make a statement on the current position of negotiations with EDF for a contract for electricity from Hinkley Point C.

Michael Fallon: It would not be appropriate to make a statement at this stage of the commercial negotiations. Should any agreement be reached in relation to an investment contract for Hinkley Point C, I will make a statement as required by the Energy Bill at the time I lay the contract before Parliament. In addition, in the case of Hinkley Point C, the Government has committed to provide summaries of reports from external advisers and analysis on the value for money of any contract agreed.

Natural Gas: Imports

Graeme Morrice: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will introduce measures to reduce the UK's dependence on imported gas.

Michael Fallon: The Government already works to maximise economic UK gas production (including potentially from unconventional sources) and restrain gas demand (e.g. through promoting renewable heat and encouraging energy efficiency). Nevertheless UK gas import dependency is expected to continue rising given declines in North sea production. We therefore also have a range of mechanisms in place to promote the security and affordability of gas imports, including extensive import infrastructure, liberalisation of EU and international gas markets, and strong bilateral relations with key gas suppliers.

Nuclear Power Stations

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the forecast out of service date is for each nuclear power station; and what the power output is for each such power station.

Michael Fallon: The scheduled closure dates for each nuclear power station and the net generation capacity for each such power station is detailed in the table below. The Government do not publish data on output at individual plant level.
	
		
			 Table of past and present UK nuclear reactors 
			  Net capacity (MW) Number of operating reactors Published lifetime 
			 Magnox (NDA)    
			 Wylfa 490 1 1971 to 2014 
			     
			 AdvancedGasCooled Reactor (AGR) -British Energy    
			 Heysham 1 1,155 2 1989 to 2019 
			 Hinkley Point B 810 2 1976 to 2023 
		
	
	
		
			 Hunterson B 890 2 1976 to 2023 
			 Dungeness B 1,040 2 1985 to 2018 
			 Hartlepool 1,180 2 1989 to 2019 
			 Heysham 2 1,220 2 1989 to 2023 
			 Torness 1,185 2 1988 to 2023 
			     
			 Pressurised Water Reactor (PWR) - British Energy    
			 Sizewell B 1,198 1 1995 to 2035 
			     
			 Total net capacity and number of operatingreactors 9,168 16

Renewable Energy

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether his Department has made an assessment of whether independent generators, including co-operatives, will be at a market disadvantage under the electricity market reform proposals.

Gregory Barker: The Government are committed to supporting investment by independent generators, including co-operatives. Independent developers have played an important role in delivering new capacity, and we expect them to continue, to make a material contribution to delivering investment and meeting our objectives of keeping energy prices affordable and supplies secure as we decarbonise. Accordingly, the Government are working to ensure that the electricity market reform proposals support independent generation.
	The contracts for difference proposed in the Energy Bill will remove wholesale price risk and consequently improve conditions in the market for long-term power purchase agreements needed by many independent low carbon developers to secure project finance.
	Further, we are taking powers in the Energy Bill to give Government the flexibility to support the availability of viable power purchase agreements for independent generators, should the market not develop as expected.

Wind Power

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the likely price per megawatt-hour of electricity generated by offshore wind in each year between 2014 to 2030.

Michael Fallon: DECC has published levelised costs estimates of various generation technologies including offshore wind on the DECC website for selected years. A summary report of the levelised cost data was published in November 2012 and is available on the DECC website:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/65713/6883-electricity-generation-costs.pdf
	Please note that published estimates for offshore wind are based on scenarios of technical potential for deployment of offshore wind. If these levels of deployment do not materialise cost reductions may be less pronounced, similarly innovation changes may accelerate cost reductions.

Wind Power

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the likely price per megawatt-hour of electricity generated by offshore wind in each year from 2014 to 2030 if a decarbonisation target for electricity generation in 2030 of between 40 and 60 grams per kilowatt-hour is set in 2014.

Michael Fallon: DECC has published levelised costs estimates of various generation technologies including offshore wind on the DECC website for selected years. A summary report of the levelised cost data was published in November 2012 and is available on the DECC website:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/65713/6883-electricity-generation-costs.pdf
	Please note that published estimates for offshore wind are based on scenarios of technical potential for deployment of offshore wind. If these levels of deployment do not materialise cost reductions may be less pronounced, similarly innovation changes may accelerate cost reductions. DECC does not publish estimates associated with a specific decarbonisation target.

Wind Power: Seas and Oceans

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change with reference to the Speech by the Prime Minister of 25 October 2010, on what projects the funds to support the establishment of offshore wind manufacturing at port sites in assisted areas of England have been used; and how much funding has been allocated to each such project.

Michael Fallon: Bids for support under this scheme are made on a confidential basis. Under the Grant for Business Investment scheme, information on grant offers for sums greater than £75,000 is normally published following the payment of the first instalment of the grant, including the name and location of the recipient of the grant and the size of the grant offered.

Bahrain

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations (a) he and (b) the UK Embassy in Bahrain has received in response to the publication of articles from Bahraini journalists and commentators on that Embassy's blog marking World Press Freedom Day.

Alistair Burt: We have received representations from two non-governmental organisations (NGOs). We explained that the views expressed in the guest blogs for World Press Freedom Day that were published on the British embassy in Bahrain's webpage do not reflect those of the UK Government. All views expressed are solely those of the authors.
	Our most recent human rights report made clear that we have some serious concerns about human rights in Bahrain—including freedom of expression—and our ambassador and Ministers raise these concerns regularly both in private and public.

Bahrain

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which Bahraini journalists and commentators were invited by the UK Embassy in Bahrain to write an article for that Embassy's blog on freedom of expression in Bahrain on World Press Freedom Day; what criteria were used to decide which journalists and commentators were invited to do so; and what efforts were made to ensure balance in the selection of articles to be published.

Alistair Burt: To mark World Press Freedom Day, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) asked journalists and bloggers to write guest blogs and articles in order to highlight freedom of expression across the world through personal testimonies. We had over 20 contributions from our embassies—including blogs, videos, and articles.
	All views expressed in guest blogs for World Press Freedom Day are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect Government policy.
	The embassy in Bahrain asked a range of journalists and commentators to contribute in order to ensure balance. Not all those invited responded, and the embassy published all of the articles they received. We made it clear that the views expressed on the guest blogs that appeared on the embassy's pages are not those of the Government.

British Indian Ocean Territory

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what meetings officials of his Department have had with officials of the US administration on the subject of renewing the lease on Diego Garcia; and on what dates.

Mark Simmonds: The 1966 exchange of notes with the US provides that the islands of the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT), including Diego Garcia, shall be available to them until 30 December 2016 and continuing thereafter for a further period of 20 years unless terminated by either Government in the period 2014-16. There is no lease.
	There have been no substantive discussions to date with the US on the future of their presence in BIOT post-2016, but we look forward to discussing this with them in due course.

British Indian Ocean Territory

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he expects to conclude negotiations with the US administration on extending the lease on Diego Garcia.

Mark Simmonds: The 1966 exchange of notes with the US provides that the islands of the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT), including Diego Garcia, shall be available to them until 30 December 2016 and continuing thereafter for a further period of 20 years unless terminated by either Government in the period 2014-16. There is no lease.
	There have been no substantive discussions to date with the US on the future of their presence in BIOT post-2016. We look forward to discussing this with them in due course, but cannot speculate on when those discussions are likely to conclude.

British Overseas Territories

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what fishing and marine protection patrols have been undertaken in (a) Tristan da Cunha, (b) Bermuda and (c) Pitcairn Island in the last 12 months.

Mark Simmonds: There have been no dedicated fishing and marine protection patrols in Tristan da Cunha or the Pitcairn Islands in the last 12 months.
	In Bermuda, fishing and marine protection patrols are undertaken, either on land or at sea daily, weather and equipment permitting. Areas patrolled arc largely the Bermuda Platform and Offshore Banks. Four (4) vessels are available for patrols.
	Territory Governments are responsible for the protection and conservation of their natural environments and not all information related to vessel inspections is held centrally in the UK,

Burma

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps the Government is taking to urge the government of Burma to address rising religious intolerance in that country.

Hugo Swire: We are extremely concerned about the recent violence directed at Muslim communities that has affected parts of Burma, and about reports showing a rise in anti-Muslim and anti-Christian propaganda in the country. We are actively monitoring these issues. On 21 March, the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for North East Bedfordshire (Alistair Burt), issued a statement on behalf of the British Government, condemning the violence in Meiktila and urging the Burmese Government to take all necessary action to protect civilians and to work with communities to tackle the underlying hostility.
	We note the speech by President Thein Sein on 7 May, in which he stressed the importance to Burma's future of diversity and tolerance. The British Government currently funds organisations that deliver interfaith dialogue projects. We have also lobbied the Burmese Government to ask them to issue an invitation to the UN Special Rapporteur to visit the country.

Burma

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the government of Burma regarding anti-Muslim violence.

Hugo Swire: The Senior Minister of State, my noble Friend the right hon. Baroness Warsi, on 15 April, and the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), on 16 April, raised the issue of anti-Muslim violence with a delegation of senior Burmese Ministers on their visit to London, calling for accountability of those responsible and for action to bring communities together.
	British officials have continued to raise the issue of anti-Muslim violence with the Burmese Government, since the inter-communal unrest in Rakhine State in 2012 and the incidents in Meiktila from 20-25 March. Her Majesty's Ambassador to Burma discussed these issues with senior advisors to the Burmese President on 1 May, in the aftermath of the most recent violence against Muslim communities, in Oak Kan. The Ambassador used this occasion to call on the Burmese Government to do all it could to prevent further attacks.

Burma

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to urge the government of Burma to address the culture of impunity in that country.

Hugo Swire: We regularly raise specific allegations of human rights abuses with the Burmese Government at the most senior levels. We are clear that all those who are guilty of instigating, inciting or carrying out violence in Burma need to be held accountable for their crimes. This should be done through a clear and transparent investigative and prosecutorial process.
	During a meeting on 15 April, the Senior Minister of State, my noble Friend the right hon. Baroness Warsi pressed Aung Min, Minister for Burmese President's Office, to follow up on the commitment made by President Thein Sein to open an office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), reiterated this point during his meeting with Aung Min on 16 April. We continue to make clear that an OHCHR office in Burma would be beneficial in assisting the Burmese Government to address some of the serious human rights concerns outlined by the international community.

Egypt

Jim Sheridan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the Egyptian authorities regarding the alleged kidnapping of refugees from East Sudan who are being held captive in the Sinai peninsula in Egypt.

Alistair Burt: The Government remains concerned about reports of people-trafficking in the Sinai. We have raised these concerns with the Egyptian and Israeli authorities, most recently with the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in March 2013. We have also raised the treatment of refugees in Sinai with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in Cairo, which, at the request of the Egyptian authorities, deals with asylum seekers in Egypt.

Enfield

Nick de Bois: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much funding (a) his Department and (b) each of the non-departmental public bodies for which he is responsible has allocated to the London Borough of Enfield local authority in each of the last five years.

David Lidington: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has not allocated any funding to the London borough of Enfield local authority in any of the last five years.
	The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), is responsible for the following non-departmental public bodies: Wilton Park; the British Council; the BBC World Service; the Marshall Aid Commemoration Commission; the Great Britain-China Centre; and the Westminster Foundation for Democracy. Of these, only the British Council has provided funding to the London borough of Enfield local authority. The British Council has funded a wide range of activity in the London borough of Enfield. Funding, however, is allocated to individual institutions, as opposed to local authority area. As a result, details of the total funding allocated within the borough would be available only at disproportionate cost.

Inflation

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the purposes for which his Department uses (a) the retail price index measure of inflation, (b) the consumer price index measure of inflation and (c) any alternative measure of inflation.

David Lidington: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) uses measures of inflation internally for analytical and management information purposes, but no area of expenditure is currently directly linked to inflation rates. The UK retail and consumer price indices are not significant drivers for FCO policy or spending.
	Some alternative measures of inflation are used by the FCO: price surveys conducted overseas are factored into the calculation of the cost of living allowance (COLA) paid to compensate UK-based staff overseas; our Posts abroad will consider local inflation when setting pay levels for locally-engaged staff; and data from the International Monetary Fund World Economic Outlook are used to monitor the difference between UK and overseas price levels to inform the FCO's overseas spending.

Saudi Arabia

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his Saudi Arabian counterpart regarding the rights of women in that country.

Alistair Burt: The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), discussed women's rights with the Foreign Minister, HRH Prince Saud al-Faisal, when he visited Saudi Arabia in July 2011—including education and employment opportunities, and allowing women to drive vehicles. The last discussion he had with Prince Saud on women's rights was on 5 November 2012, where they discussed plans for the Prime Minister to visit Dar Al Hekma College in Jeddah the following day. During this visit, the Prime Minister met female students and heard their assessment of women's rights in Saudi Arabia directly. On 5 March the Foreign Secretary discussed women's rights with the Speaker of Saudi Arabia's Shura Council, and a delegation of representatives which included two of the newly appointed female members.

Serbia: Kosovo

Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the recent negotiations between Serbia and Kosovo.

David Lidington: As the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), said on 19 April, we welcome the agreement that Serbia and Kosovo have reached in the EU-facilitated dialogue.
	I congratulate the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the right hon. the Baroness Ashton of Upholland, for her part in achieving this significant step, and Prime Ministers Dacic and Thaci for showing the courage necessary to reach this agreement. The agreement lays a solid basis for further improvement in the relationship between Serbia and Kosovo and is a valuable contribution to the stability and security of the Western Balkans.
	I urge both Serbia and Kosovo to implement this agreement rapidly, to remain constructively engaged in dialogue, and to take the further actions needed to continue their progress towards future membership of the EU, and a stable and prosperous future for their citizens.

Syria

Jim Sheridan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the Turkish authorities regarding allegations that Syrian refugees were forcibly returned to Syria from the Akcakale refugee camp.

David Lidington: The British Government continues to monitor closely the refugee situation in Turkey and has regular discussions with Turkish counterparts. We have not had any specific discussions about the alleged return of refugees from the Akcakale camp.
	In order to support Turkey in the refugee response, the UK has provided over £6 million in humanitarian aid for the refugee response in Turkey, including £1 million to the Turkish Red Crescent. We welcome Turkey's generous provision of refuge for hundreds of thousands of Syrians who have fled the violence and their efforts to minimise the impact of the conflict on regional stability.

Livestock: Exports

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will bring forward legislative proposals to amend the Harbours, Docks and Piers Clauses Act 1847 in order to give higher regard to the welfare of animals.

David Heath: No. The Harbour Docks and Piers Clauses Act 1847 aims to ensure that ports are available to all without discrimination. It would not be an appropriate legal instrument for use by port authorities to introduce an effective barrier to trade. In any case, banning the export of live animals would be illegal and undermine the principle of free movement of goods enshrined in the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.

Buildings

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what the total running costs were for each building used, owned or rented in central London by his Department, its agencies and non-departmental public bodies other than buildings used primarily for the provision of education, in each of the last three financial years.

Elizabeth Truss: The Department for Education, its agencies and non-departmental public bodies leased the following properties in central London during the financial years 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2012-13.
	
		
			  Total running costs (£)  
			 Central London properties 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 Lease end 
			 Sanctuary Buildings, Great Smith Street, SWIP 3BT (DFE) 15,808,941.00 15,351,301.00 18,027,219.00 28 September 2017 
			 Greycoat Street, SW1P 2QB (DFE) 1,180,799.00 1,136,653.00 947,782.00 16 October 2014 
			 1st Floor, 59-65 Wells Street, W1A 3AE (CAFCASS) 58,760.00 109,090.00 111,519.00 23 March 2015 
			 Principal Registry Family Division, 42-49 High Holborn, WC1V 6NP (CAFCASS) 237,012.00 237,012.00 237,012.00 31 March 2014 
		
	
	
		
			 83 Piccadilly, W1J 8JB (QCDA/DFE) 8,543,000.00 4,502,970.00 3,415,642.00 9 November 2012 
			 Union Street, Southwark, SE1 0NW (Ofsted) 200,011.00 199,294.00 199,294.00 24 March 2016 
			 Aviation House, Holborn, WC2B 6NH (Ofsted) 3,103,654.00 2,898,603.00 2,378,791.00 16 February 2018 
		
	
	The increase in the Sanctuary Buildings cost during the financial year 2012-13 is due to the landlord electing to charge VAT on the rent and an increase in non-domestic rates. 83 Piccadilly has now been vacated.
	Since May 2010 the Department for Education has reduced the size of its operational estate across the country from 30 properties, at a cost of circa £51 million per annum, to 12 properties, costing circa £34 million per annum. This is a saving of circa £17 million per annum. The Department’s current Estates Strategy is to consolidate further and reduce the size of its estate to six properties. This includes reducing our central London presence from two properties to one. The office at Greycoat street will close at lease expiry in 2014 and the staff based there will relocate to Sanctuary Buildings, generating annual savings of circa £900,000.
	We plan to vacate Sanctuary Buildings when the lease expires in 2017 and we are working with the Government Property Unit (GPU) to secure an alternative accommodation solution that aligns to the GPU’s Property Strategy for Central London, representing best value for the taxpayer.
	It should also be noted that Ofsted’s running costs at Aviation house will reduce by a further £535,000 per annum from April 2014 and in total their operational costs in London will have reduced by circa £1.26 million per annum over the four year period from 2010-11 to 2013-14.

Children's Centres

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many children’s centres provided on-site full daycare on (a) 6 May 2010 and (b) 6 May 2013.

Elizabeth Truss: The Department for Education collects information on the provision of child care through the annual Childcare and Early Years Provider Survey. This allows an estimate to be made of the number of Sure Start children’s centres providing full day care provision on site. Estimates from the survey show that in 2010 the number of children’s centres providing on-site full day care was 800. In 2011 this figure had fallen to 550.
	However, the 2011 survey indicates that demand for child care provision specifically based in children’s centres may have been affected by increases in the broader supply of full day provision. The survey estimates that between 2010 and 2011 the number of full day care providers increased from 16,700 to 17,600.
	These are the latest figures available to the Department. The survey is now undertaken every other year and the 2013 survey is due to be published in September 2014.

Class Sizes: Bassetlaw

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what the average class size was in (a) secondary and (b) primary schools in Bassetlaw constituency in each of the last three years.

David Laws: Data on class sizes in state-funded primary and secondary schools in England is published as part of the annual Statistical First Release 'Schools, Pupils and their Characteristics'. The latest data is for January 2012 and is available on the Department's website
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/schools-pupils-and-their-characteristics-january-2012
	The average size of one teacher classes in state-funded secondary schools in Bassetlaw constituency was: (i) 20.4 pupils in 2010, (ii) 18.4 pupils in 2011, and (iii) 20.0 pupils in 2012.
	The average size of one teacher classes in state-funded primary schools in Bassetlaw constituency was: (i) 24.9 pupils in 2010, (ii) 24.5 pupils in 2011, and (iii) 25.2 pupils in 2012.

Curriculum

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education when he plans to publish draft programmes of study for Key Stage 4.

Elizabeth Truss: Draft programmes of study for citizenship, computing and physical education at key stage 4 were published for consultation on 7 February 2013. At the same time draft programmes of study for English, mathematics and science at key stage 4 were also published for information. We plan to undertake formal consultation on draft programmes of study for these subjects in the autumn and finalise them next year. Schools will start teaching the new programmes of study from September 2015.

Free School Meals: Bassetlaw

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps he is taking to ensure that children living in poverty in (a) the UK and (b) Bassetlaw constituency receive free school meals.

David Laws: The Government recognises the benefits of healthy school meals and is committed to continuing to provide free school meals to those pupils who need them most. Our priority is to make sure that the most disadvantaged children are able to get a nutritious free school meal.
	We are working to encourage all families who meet the criteria to register for free school meals. We want disadvantaged children to benefit from a nutritious meal, and their schools to be able to receive pupil premium funding to help raise disadvantaged pupils' attainment.
	Free school meals are not compulsory and there are many reasons why a family may choose not to claim a free school meal to which they are entitled. The fear of being stigmatised can prevent many children from taking a free school meal, but we have made progress in addressing this. For example, many schools now have cashless systems and other methods to ensure that it is not obvious which pupils are receiving a free school lunch. The Department for Education's eligibility checking service, used by local authorities, has also made it much easier and quicker to check anonymously which families are entitled to free school meals. Free school meal take-up in England increased by 60,000 between 2010 and 2012.

GCSE

Simon Hart: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will issue guidance on the assessment of GCSE practical work and fieldwork in subjects including science and geography; and if he will make a statement.

Elizabeth Truss: Currently, science practical work and geography fieldwork are assessed by controlled assessment, a form of internal assessment. The government's response to its public consultation on reforming key stage 4 qualifications set out that internal assessment should be kept to a minimum in new GCSEs and used only where there is a compelling case to do so. The response accepted that some aspects of assessment lend themselves less easily to externally marked examinations.
	The Government will publish draft subject content requirements for consultation shortly, alongside Ofqual's consultation on regulatory requirements for new GCSEs. Together, those requirements will set the framework for the development of the new GCSEs, including the assessment of practical work and fieldwork.

Heart Diseases: First Aid

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will make the teaching of cardio pulmonary resuscitation skills a mandatory part of the national curriculum.

Elizabeth Truss: Our proposals for the new national curriculum were published for consultation on 7 February, and the consultation closed on 16 April. The proposals are based on the principle that the national curriculum should set out a body of essential knowledge that children should be expected to acquire in key subjects during the course of their school career.
	We are reviewing the consultation responses, including those from organisations and individuals supporting the inclusion of emergency life-saving skills, and will publish a final version of the new national curriculum later in the year.

Publications

Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much his Department spent on subscriptions to academic journals published by (a) Reed-Elsevier, (b) Wiley-Blackwell, (c) Springer and (d) any other academic publisher in each of the last five years.

Elizabeth Truss: The Department for Education subscribes to a variety of journals from a range of academic publishers. With one or two exceptions, all our journal subscriptions are for academic journals. Departmental subscriptions are to journal titles, rather than to individual publishers, and as titles frequently change publisher it is difficult to provide the information in the format requested. Also, purchasing has been devolved to business and policy teams throughout the department and there are a range of purchasing routes. The disproportionate cost threshold would be exceeded if all business and policy teams in the Department were contacted to retrieve and identify all academic journal subscriptions by publisher.
	However, from information held centrally for journals subscribed to from the subscriptions agent and aggregator, the total cost of journal subscriptions for each of the last five financial years was:
	
		
			 Financial year Costs of subscription (£) 
			 2012-13 21,664.77 
			 2011-12 17,294.01 
			 2010-11 50,128.00 
			 2009-10 41,849.33 
			 2008-09 52,000.00

Vocational Training

Caroline Dinenage: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what budget his Department has allocated to the Traineeships programme; and what information his Department holds on funding for that programme from other sources.

Matthew Hancock: The Framework for Delivery(1), which we published on 9 May 2013, confirmed that traineeships for 16-19 year olds will be part of 16-19 study programmes and will be funded on the same basis. Traineeships will be funded through the Education Funding Agency or, in the case of 16-19 apprenticeship providers, through the Skills Funding Agency.
	Traineeships will be a demand-led programme. The number of places funded will reflect the number of employers and education and training providers who choose to offer a place and the number of eligible young people who wish to take one.
	(1)www.gov.uk/government/publications/supporting-young-people-to-develop-the-skills-for-apprenticeships-and-sustainable-employment-framework-for-delivery

Vocational Training

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Education with reference to paragraph 11 of Traineeships: Supporting young people to develop the skills for apprenticeships and sustainable employment: Framework for Delivery published on 9 May 2013, how many existing training programmes the Government estimates will (a) cease or (b) be subsumed into the new traineeship scheme; and which programmes are under consideration.

Matthew Hancock: Our intention is for traineeships to simplify the current policy landscape and make it easier for young people and employers to navigate. As traineeships develop we will look to subsume or cease similar existing training programmes in order to simplify the system. Decisions on whether to cease or subsume existing programmes will be taken in due course.

Vocational Training

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Education with reference to paragraph 87 of Traineeships: Framework for Delivery, published 9 May 2013, what steps he will take to prevent providers from abusing the system by recruiting young people who are already prepared for employment or an apprenticeship in order to secure the funding for a full six month course.

Matthew Hancock: The Framework for Delivery specifies that young people are not eligible for traineeships if they are already ready to start an apprenticeship or if they are already employed.
	In 2013-14, the delivery of traineeships will be limited to those providers who have achieved an Ofsted inspection grade of outstanding or good. We expect these providers to offer a high-quality experience targeted only at those who are eligible for the programme.
	This is the first year of the national rollout of traineeships, and we will monitor the delivery of the programme to ensure that providers are focusing on eligible young people. We will continue to develop and improve the programme over the coming years, and to help with that process we intend to commission an external evaluation of the programme in its first years of operation.

Vocational Training

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Education with reference to paragraph 18 of Traineeships Framework for Delivery, published 9 May 2013, how many providers will be eligible to provide traineeships in 2013-14; which areas will not have any eligible traineeship providers in 2013-14; how he will ensure that all areas of the country have access to one or more traineeship providers after 2013-14; when he expects to achieve nationwide coverage of traineeship providers; and what safeguards he will put in place to ensure low quality providers do not enter the traineeships market.

Matthew Hancock: In 2013/14, the delivery of traineeships will be limited to those providers who have achieved an Ofsted inspection grade of Outstanding or Good. This will help ensure that traineeships are only delivered by quality providers in the first year of national rollout. Where there is no eligible provider in a location, we will support efforts to ensure that Outstanding and Good provision becomes available in that area.
	We aim to reduce the requirement for traineeship providers to have achieved certain Ofsted inspection grades as the programme becomes established. We will confirm arrangements for 2014/15 over the next year. The primary measure of success for traineeships will be securing positive outcomes for participants and we intend to hold providers to account against this. We will develop success and destination measures for traineeships which we aim to publish and use for accountability purposes from 2015/16.

Young People: Carers

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what guidance he currently provides to schools to support pupils who might be young carers.

Edward Timpson: Several pieces of advice to schools offer guidance on how to support pupils who are young carers, for example advice on issuing no-notice detentions and non-statutory guidance to school sixth forms on making discretionary 16-19 bursary awards. Ofsted also take an interest in support offered to vulnerable students, including young carers during inspections.
	We have also made our online training package to increase awareness of young carers' issues among teachers and school staff available on the websites of Carers Trust and The Children's Society. My Department has provided funding to The Children's Society for four years to promote that training alongside many other school resources and examples of best practice to local authorities and their statutory and voluntary sector partners.
	The Department of Health have also recently announced plans to train school nurses to be champions for young carers. They will speak up on young carers' behalf and help head teachers and governors decide how best to support them at school.

G4S

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the current level of expenditure by his Department is on contracts with G4S; and how much was spent by his Department on contracts with G4S in each year since 2008.

Jo Swinson: The following expenditure with G4S is recorded for the Department (including UKTI Admin).
	
		
			 Financial year £ 
			 2008/9 57,019 
			 2009/10 5,074 
			 2010/11 92,001 
			 2011/12 72,391 
			 2012/13 10,414 
			 2013/14 (up to 8 May 2013) Nil 
		
	
	This data excludes NDPB's as this information is not held centrally.

Insolvency

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will being forward legislative proposals relating to the Insolvency Service for the purposes of allowing (a) individuals or (b) organisations to request, upon the receipt of evidence and for an acceptable reason, investigation of an individual's ability to act as a director; and if he will make a statement.

Jo Swinson: The Government believes that new legislation is unnecessary because these powers of investigation already exist.
	When a company goes into administration, insolvent liquidation or administrative receivership, the insolvency practitioner has a legal duty to report confidentially to The Insolvency Service about the conduct of the directors. If misconduct is alleged the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills has the power to seek the director's disqualification where it is believed to be in the public interest.
	If a company is subject to any of these formal insolvency procedures, the insolvency practitioner is the person best placed to collate and report any evidence of misconduct. But any individual or organisation with evidence of misconduct by the company's directors can also bring that evidence to the attention of the insolvency practitioner so that it can be taken into account when the insolvency practitioner reports to the Secretary of State, or can produce that evidence directly to the Insolvency Service acting on behalf of the Secretary of State (BIS).
	The Insolvency Service also has discretionary powers under the Companies Acts to conduct inquiries on behalf of the Secretary of State where it appears that there has been misconduct in relation to the affairs of any company, including those not subject to formal insolvency. Any individual or organisation with evidence of misconduct should send full details of their complaint and all the supporting evidence to:
	Intelligence Hub
	Investigations and Enforcement Services
	The Insolvency Service
	3(rd) Floor Cannon House
	18 Priory Queensway
	Birmingham B4 6FD
	(e-mail: intelligence.live@insolvency.gsi.gov.uk)
	The Secretary of State has powers to use information arising from such inquiries, to seek the disqualification of the directors of the company, petition the court to wind up the company or bring criminal proceedings.

Land Use: Wales

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent assessment (a) he and (b) the Land Registry has made of the (i) Ysciefiog and Nannerch Inclosure Act 1800 and (ii) Whitford Inclosure Act 1800; and whether he has any plans to bring forward proposals repeal or amend either Act.

Michael Fallon: The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, my right hon. Friend the Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable), has no plans to bring forward such proposals. Land Registry's only concern is with the enclosure awards made under the Inclosure Acts.

Land Use: Wales

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many notification of interest letters relating to the Land Registry Act 2002 have been sent to (a) Flintshire residents, (b) Delyn constituency residents and (c) residents of the parishes of (i) Cilcain, (ii) Ysciefiog and (iii) Nannerch in 2013 to date.

Michael Fallon: Land Registry estimates that it has sent out approximately 1,200 notices to date to property owners in Flintshire. The notices are to inform the owners of applications to the registrar for the registration of title to mines and minerals.
	The Delyn constituency appears covers a similar area. The three parishes mentioned are all within Flintshire. But it is not been possible for Land Registry to provide estimates of the number of notices sent to the residents of each of them.

Overseas Students: Bahamas

David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what programmes there are to encourage university students from the Commonwealth of the Bahamas to study in the UK; and if he will make a statement.

David Willetts: The Government recognises the important contribution that international students make to the UK and we welcome all genuine international students to study at our world-class academic institutions. There is no cap on the number of international students coming to study in the UK.
	In addition to promoting UK education through a range of channels, including the Education UK website, managed by British Council and in-country partners, this Department funds a small number of eligible students from the Bahamas through the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission.
	The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills will continue to work with partners representing the UK higher education sector to ensure that students looking to study in the UK are aware of the full range of opportunities available to them.

Government Departments: Cybercrime

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what estimate his Department has made of the costs of retrofitting cyber security to existing government systems.

Chloe Smith: holding answer 13 May 2013
	This Government sees cyber security as an integral part of the process of building government’s ICT systems rather than as an add-on.
	Unfortunately this Government is burdened with legacy ICT systems inherited from the previous Administration. For that reason we are working to reform ICT including through the introduction of new central controls to ensure greater consistency and integration, the creation of a common ICT infrastructure, and the adoption of compulsory open standards.
	Cyber Security is not add-on to systems but it is achieved through a set of measures including personnel and process measures as well as hardware and software protections. The cyber security of Government systems also extends to suppliers and any related supply chain and therefore the costs requested cannot be singled out.

Internet: Glasgow

John Robertson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office 
	(1)  what recent discussions he has had with Carnegie UK regarding its report, Across the Divide: Tackling digital exclusion in Glasgow;
	(2)  what recent discussions he has had with members of the Scottish Government regarding digital exclusion in (a) Glasgow North West constituency, (b) Glasgow and (c) Scotland.

Nick Hurd: My Officials in the Government Digital Service (GDS) have written to Carnegie UK and would welcome the chance to discuss its report.
	The Scottish Government is represented on the Government's Assisted Digital Programme Board and on the Cross Departmental Digital Leaders Network.
	As under the previous Administration, details of such meetings are not disclosed.

Pay

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many people in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) the North East and (d) the UK earn at least £1 million a year.

Sajid Javid: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Treasury.
	Number of UK taxpayers with total income of £1 million and over are published in Table 3.3 'Distribution of total income before and after tax by gender, 2010-11' available on the HMRC website at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/statistics/income-by-year/table3-3.pdf
	Reliable estimates for individuals with total income over £1 million in Jarrow constituency, South Tyneside and the North East are not available due to small sample sizes.
	Estimates are based on Survey of Personal Incomes (SPI) data for 2010-11.

Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012

Hazel Blears: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office 
	(1)  what steps his Department is taking to implement the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 in its procurement procedures; and what guidance he has given to his Department's executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies on implementation of that Act;
	(2)  what steps his Office is taking to implement the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 in its procurement procedures;
	(3)  what steps No. 10 Downing Street is taking to implement the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 in its procurement procedures.

Nick Hurd: Since the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 came into force, Cabinet Office has been the lead department proactively implementing the Act across Government and the sector:
	We have produced a detailed guidance document:
	ww.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/79273/Public_Services_Social_Value_Act_2012_PPN.pdf
	to help guide commissioners and procurers;
	We are reviewing our internal Cabinet Office procurement processes to ensure Social Value principles are being considered and encouraging other departments to do the same; and
	We have been working in partnership with Social Enterprise UK (SEUK) to run a Social Value Campaign, including a series of joint regional events to help distil key messages across government and the sector more widely.
	In parallel to the above, we have been looking at ways to make it easier for social enterprises to deliver public services under the Act:
	We have recently launched the Commissioning Academy, a programme designed to support capable and confident senior public-sector staff to commission in a way that is sensitive to the needs of civil society; and
	Our Investment Readiness and Contract Readiness Fund supports the growth of successful social ventures which have the potential to deliver services and have a positive social impact at scale, but are not yet in a position to take on repayable finance.

Banks: Loans

Naomi Long: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the effect of the Funding for Lending Scheme on the lending market in Northern Ireland.

Greg Clark: The Funding for Lending Scheme (FLS) was launched to boost bank lending to UK households and businesses. The scheme is designed to reduce the funding costs of banks and provide them with a strong incentive to increase their lending across the UK. The UK Government is committed to help Northern Irish businesses grow and will continue to work hard to support the Northern Irish economy, including in the area of bank lending. The Government will continue to update the Northern Ireland Executive as the scheme progresses.

Banks: Pay

Jim Sheridan: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the potential effects of a tax on bonuses of bank employees in the UK.

Greg Clark: The Government has been clear that banks must act responsibly in setting their pay, and has taken robust action to tackle unacceptable bank bonuses.
	This Government strongly believes that the Bank Levy, rather than a Bank Payroll Tax, is the best way forward. The Levy is a permanent tax, designed to raise over £21½ billion every year. The Levy ensures banks make a fair contribution in respect of the potential risks they pose to the UK financial system and wider economy.

Children: Day Care

Kate Green: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the potential effects on measured child poverty rates of the additional childcare support announced in the 2013 Budget.

Sajid Javid: The Government will consider the distributional impacts of the additional child care support as this policy is developed in detail.
	In addition, the Government has sought a wide range of views as part of a consultation on better measures of child poverty, which include income but also wider measures to tackle the root causes of poverty including worklessness, educational failure and family breakdown. The consultation has now closed and the Government will respond in the summer.

Children: Day Care

Kate Green: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the distribution by income decile of additional gains to families arising from the additional childcare support announced as part of Budget 2013.

Sajid Javid: The Government will consider the distributional impacts of the additional childcare support as this policy is developed in detail. The Government continues to assess the cumulative impacts of all its measures within the “impacts on Households” annex, which is published at each fiscal event.

Corporation Tax

John Robertson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what recent discussions he has had regarding corporation tax with (a) RWE Npower, (b) SSE, (c) EDF, (d) E.ON, (e) British Gas and (f) Scottish Power;
	(2)  what internal discussions his Department has had regarding the corporation tax payment of (a) RWE Npower, (b) SSE, (c) EDF, (d) E.ON, (e) British Gas and (f) Scottish Power.

David Gauke: Treasury Ministers do not hold discussions on corporation tax payments with companies, nor do they have access to the details of companies' or individuals’ tax affairs, as the tax system is administered by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). HMRC has a statutory duty of taxpayer confidentiality and so cannot disclose this information to either HM Treasury or to the wider public, other than in very limited circumstances.
	HMRC's Large Business Service (LBS) directly engages with the 2,000 largest businesses to develop an in-depth knowledge of their business model, business and tax issues, appetite for risk in tax planning, and internal governance. The LBS includes a dedicated unit of tax professionals for managing tax risks in the utility sector.

Housing: Repairs and Maintenance

Jim Sheridan: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the effects of falling workloads and rising costs in the domestic repair, maintenance and improvement market on unemployment in (a) Paisley and Renfrewshire North constituency, (b) Scotland and (c) the UK.

Sajid Javid: In the three months to March 2013, the unemployment rate was 7.8% in the UK, and 7.3% in Scotland. Over the year, employment in the UK has increased by 434,000 while unemployment has fallen 92,000. Scotland had the largest increase in regional employment, increasing by 30,000; while unemployment has fallen by 21,000. The unemployment rate was 8.1% in Paisley and Renfrewshire North in 2012.
	The non-seasonally adjusted value of the repair and maintenance on housing in construction output in Great Britain increased by 1.9% in the year to March 2013. In Scotland it increased by 4.1% in 2012. This data is not available at the constituency level.
	Budget 2013 announced a range of measures which will help support the construction industry and increase activity in the housing market. Furthermore, the construction sector is one of the industries identified in the Government's Industrial Strategy, announced in September 2012, which aims to maintain and enhance the UK's global position in 11 key sectors.

Income Tax

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the annual cost or benefit to the public purse will be of reducing the additional rate of income tax to 45 per cent.

David Gauke: Estimated cost of reducing the additional rate of income tax to 45% is available on the Government website, Budget 2013, table 2.2:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/budget-2013-documents

Income Tax

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) the North East and (d) the UK will benefit from the reduced additional rate of income tax from 50 per cent to 45 per cent.

David Gauke: The information is as follows:
	(a) (b) Data on the number of individuals benefiting from the reduction in additional rate at parliamentary constituency level are not available. This is because the projections would not be reliable at this level.
	(c) Regional population projections on the number of additional rate taxpayers in the North East can be found in table 2.2 ‘Number of income taxpayers, by country’, on HMRC’s website:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/statistics/tax-statistics/table2-2.pdf
	Statistics indicate that there will be around 3,000 additional rate taxpayers in the North East in 2013-14.
	(d) Population projections on number of additional rate taxpayers in the UK can be found in table 2.1 ‘Number of individual income taxpayers’, on HMRC’s website:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/statistics/tax-statistics/table2-1.pdf
	Statistics indicate that there will be around 287,000 additional rate taxpayers in the UK in 2013-14.
	The projected estimates are based upon the 2010-11 Survey of Personal Incomes using economic assumptions consistent with the OBR's March 2013 economic and fiscal outlook.

Income Tax: Warrington

Helen Jones: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people in (a) Warrington and (b) Warrington North constituency will see a reduction in the additional rate of income tax from 50 per cent to 45 per cent.

David Gauke: Data on the number of individuals benefiting from the reduction in additional rate at local authority and parliamentary constituency level are not available. This is because the projections would not be reliable.

Revenue and Customs

Nick de Bois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate HM Revenue and Customs has made of the number of requests for access to communications data it would make under the Communications Data Bill if that bill received Royal Assent; and if he will make a statement.

David Gauke: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) does not hold the information requested. If the Communications Data Bill were to receive Royal Assent then HMRC would make full use of the powers in the Act to support investigations into serious and organised criminal attacks on the UK's tax systems. Until such time they cannot speculate on how many requests for access to communications data would be necessary.

Revenue and Customs

Nick de Bois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many requests were made by HM Revenue and Customs for access to communications data in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

David Gauke: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) acquires Communications Data to support investigations into a broad range of financial frauds perpetrated by serious, organised criminal groups, including the smuggling and diversion of excise goods, indirect tax fraud (including multi trader intra-community VAT fraud), money laundering and the illegal import and export of strategic goods.
	The Acquisition and Disclosure of Communications Data Codes of Practice (section 71 of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000) require the Department—as a relevant public authority—to keep a record of the following items for inspection by the Interception of Communications Commissioner's Office (paragraph 6.5):
	number of applications submitted to a designated person for a decision to obtain communications data which were rejected after due consideration;
	number of notices requiring disclosure of communications data within the meaning of each subsection of section 21 (4) of the Act or any combinations of data;
	number of authorisations for conduct to acquire communications data within the meaning of each subsection of section 21 (4) of the Act or any combinations of data;
	number of times an urgent notice is given orally, or an urgent authorisation granted orally, requiring disclosure of communications data within the meaning of each subsection of section 21 (4) of the Act or any combination of data.
	Since 2008 HMRC has requested the following items of Communications Data under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000:
	2008
	(a) 1,328 (section 21 (4)(a)—traffic data)
	(b) 1,167 (section 21(4)(b)—service use data)
	(c) 8,506 (section 21 (4)(b)—service use data)
	2009
	(a) 1,778 (section 21 (4)(a)—traffic data)
	(b) 669 (section 21(4)(b)—service use data)
	(c) 8,722 (section 21(4)(c)—subscriber data)
	2010
	(a) 1,789 (section 21(4)(a)—traffic data)
	(b) 376 (section 21 (4)(b)—service use data)
	(c) 9,471 (section 21 (4)(c)—subscriber data)
	2011
	(a) 2,784 (section 21(4)(a)—traffic data)
	(b) 92 (section 21(4)(b)—service use data)
	(c) 11,952 (section 21(4)(c)—subscriber data)
	2012
	(a) 3,013 (section 21(4)(a)—traffic data)
	(b) 89 (section 21(4)(b)—service use data)
	(c) 11,812 (section 21 (4)(c)—subscriber data)
	2013 (to 10 May 2013)
	(a) 1,345 (section 21 (4)(a)—traffic data)
	(b) 12 (section 21 (4)(b)—service use data)
	(c) 5,577 (section 21 (4)(c)—subscriber data)
	The figures up to 2009 also include Communications Data requests relating to drugs operations which HMRC undertook on behalf of the UKBA.

Tax Havens: British Virgin Islands

Jim Sheridan: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the findings of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists on money held in the British Virgin Islands.

David Gauke: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is working with the United States and Australian tax administrations (the IRS and ATO) to analyse data which reveals extensive use of complex offshore structures to conceal assets by wealthy individuals and companies. The data also exposes information that may be shared with other tax administrations as part of the global fight against tax evasion.
	Early results show the use of companies and trusts in a number of territories around the world including Singapore, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, and the Cook Islands.
	HMRC has not seen the data reportedly held by the ICIJ, but believes that information is broadly similar to the data it holds.

Tonnage Tax

John McDonnell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the total value of concessions given by HM Revenue and Customs to shipping companies in respect of the tonnage tax scheme was in 2012-13.

Sajid Javid: HMRC have granted no concessions to shipping companies in respect of the tonnage tax scheme in 2012-13.
	Statistics are published by HMRC on .the estimated reduction in tax liabilities accrued by the UK Shipping Industry through the tonnage tax regime for 2011 -12 and 2012-13. These are available at the following link:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/statistics/expenditures/table1-5.pdf
	As complete tax returns data for 2012-13 are not yet available, the estimate is based on projecting forward data from tax returns for 2010.

Tourism: Government Assistance

Stephen Mosley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what fiscal steps he is taking to support (a) the tourism sector and (b) zoos and aquariums.

David Gauke: Tourism is one of Britain's most important industries and the Government is committed to fostering the conditions for growth and promoting Britain as a top tourism destination.
	Alongside the private sector, the Government funds campaigns by VisitEngland and VisitBritain to promote the UK as an international and domestic tourism destination. Over 4 years VisitBritain's international campaign, including GREAT, will be investing £137 million in inbound tourism to the UK. This is expected to deliver an additional 4.7 million extra visitors to Britain, £2.3 billion more spending in our economy and over 60,000 new job opportunities between 2011 and 2015. Over the same period, promotion of domestic tourism by VisitEngland and the devolved nation's tourist boards is expected to generate £500 million in extra spend and 12,500 new job opportunities
	The Government has introduced a number of tax changes to support businesses of all types. Most recently, the Government announced in the Budget that it will reduce the main rate of corporation tax to 20% and give businesses an entitlement to a £2,000 per year employment allowance towards their employer National Insurance Contribution bill, from April 2014, to reduce the cost of hiring staff. These measures will support all businesses including those in tourism and operators of zoos and aquariums.

Welfare Tax Credits

William Bain: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many households containing a child and one adult earning (a) more and (b) less than the threshold for income tax in (i) the UK, (ii) each nation and each region of the UK and (iii) each parliamentary constituency in the UK will receive tax credits in each of the next four financial years.

David Gauke: The following table gives the number of UK households with children and a single adult and are in receipt of working or child tax credits, and their position in relation to the personal allowance, in 2013-14 and 2014-15. Regional breakdowns cannot be provided due to small sample sizes.
	
		
			  2013-14 (Personal allowance = £9,440) 2014-15 (Personal allowance = £10,000) 
			 Earning below the personal allowance (including non-working adults) 845,000 854,000 
			 Earning above the personal allowance 398,000 381,000 
			 All 1,243,000 1,236,000 
		
	
	Figures are rounded to the nearest 1,000, totals may not sum due to rounding. HM Treasury's modelling assumes full take of the benefits to which an individual is entitled; therefore, all households with children with incomes below the personal allowance are entitled to child tax credits.

Bangladesh

Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development for what reason her Department committed additional resources to the CHARS Livelihood programme in Bangladesh prior to completion and publication of the evaluation of that project.

Justine Greening: The decision to fund Phase 2 of the CHARS Livelihoods Programme (CLP2) was taken by Ministers in December 2009 under the previous Government.

Biofuels

Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development 
	(1)  what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change on the effect of biofuels on hunger ahead of the meeting of the EU Energy Council on 6 June 2013;
	(2)  whether the G8-linked event on Hunger and Nutrition on 8 June 2013 will address the issue of biofuels as a cause of hunger;
	(3)  what discussions she has had with her counterparts in (a) DECC, (b) DfT, (c) BIS and (d) DEFRA about the proposed amendment to the EU Renewable Energy Directive to limit the amount of food-based biofuels to five per cent of the total.

Justine Greening: We believe that food production must remain the primary goal of agriculture and production of biomass for bioenergy must not undermine food security in developing countries.
	The Nutrition for Growth Event on 8 June will have ambitious targeted outcomes on nutrition.
	The Department for International Development has regular discussions with other Whitehall Departments in relation to the proposed amendment to the EU RED to limit the amount of food based biofuels to 5% of the total.

International Assistance

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if the UK will press for the disaggregation of data by a range of factors to feature prominently in the framework that will replace the Millennium Development Goals.

Justine Greening: The Government has been clear it wants to see a ‘data revolution’ for the next development framework. The UK will continue to press for sufficient data disaggregation in the new goal framework.

Overseas Aid

Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development 
	(1)  how many middle income countries receive overseas development assistance through (a) bilateral programmes and (b) multilateral organisations;
	(2)  which middle income countries receive official development assistance from the Government; what proportion of this assistance is in the form of (a) bilateral programmes and (b) support via multilateral organisations; how much each such country receives; how many such countries have received increased allocations since May 2010; and how much increase any such country has received.

Justine Greening: Annex 1 of the ‘Statistics on International Development’ (SID) publication - available online at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/statistics-on-international-development
	lists all recipient countries, alongside details of country income classifications and eligibility for Official Development Assistance.
	Tables 16.2-16.6 of the SID publication list UK net bilateral ODA figures by recipient countries.
	Table B.4 of Annex B within DFID's Annual Report 2012 - available online at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-international-development/series/dfid-annual-report-2011-2012
	lists imputed UK multilateral ODA shares by recipient countries.

Affordable Housing

Roberta Blackman-Woods: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate his Department has made of the number of affordable homes built in 2012.

Mark Prisk: The number of affordable homes built in England in 2011-12, the most recent year for which data is available, is published in the Department's live table 1009, available at the following link:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-affordable-housing-supply
	The figures show that the average number of new affordable homes being delivered under this Government are a third higher than under the last Administration.

Coastal Areas

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much funding has been allocated to each of the principal seaside towns under the Working Neighbourhoods Fund to date.

Brandon Lewis: A table showing Working Neighbourhood Fund allocations for all local authorities has been placed in the Library of the House.
	The Fund was a time-limited, three year programme that ended as originally scheduled in March 2011. More information can be found in a deposited paper from February 2011, available in the Library and online at:
	http://data.parliament.uk/DepositedPapers/Files/DEP2011-0295/DEP2011-0295.tif

Non-domestic Rates: Empty Property

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will introduce measures to require landlords receiving empty property rate relief to make public details of that relief and the properties affected.

Brandon Lewis: The Government has no current plans to introduce measures to require landlords receiving empty property rate relief to make public details of that relief and the properties affected.
	Business rates in Wales are a devolved matter.

Scotland

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  which external (a) organisations and (b) individuals his Department has engaged as part of the Scotland Analysis Programme; and what was discussed at such consultations;
	(2)  how many officials in his Department have been allocated to work on the Scotland Analysis Programme; and at what cost to the public purse;
	(3)  what meetings he and officials in his Department have had with the right hon. Member for Edinburgh South West as part of the Scotland Analysis Programme; and what was discussed at those meetings;
	(4)  what work his Department has commissioned from external consultants in relation to work on the Scotland Analysis Programme; which consultants were used; and at what cost to the public purse.

Brandon Lewis: Work on the Scotland analysis programme is being carried out across Government by policy experts in relevant areas. There is a small team in Her Majesty's Treasury coordinating the programme. As the programme largely relates to reserved areas of policy, DCLG is not actively involved in the analysis.

Shops: Empty Property

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will give consideration to reforming the system of compulsory purchase orders to allow local authorities and business improvement districts to buy a medium-term lease on empty shops. [Official Report, 4 June 2013, Vol. 563, c. 17-18MC.]

Nicholas Boles: Local authorities have a power under section 13 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976 to acquire new rights over land which do not exist at the time the compulsory purchase order is made. This would include a lease. As with all compulsory purchase orders, the acquiring authority would have to demonstrate that there were no impediments to their scheme going ahead and that it had a compelling case in the public interest to deprive the owner of the land of his property rights.

Temporary Employment

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether all agency staff employed by his Department are paid at or above the relevant level of the living wage.

Brandon Lewis: The Government supports the living wage and encourages business to take it up where possible and affordable. However, the decision on what wages to set is for individual employers and workers, and these include agency staff working in the Department.
	More broadly, from April 2013, the Government has raised the personal income allowance to £9,440—an income tax cut for 24 million tax payers—which will particularly help those on local incomes. The recent Budget announced the personal allowance will rise again to £10,000 from April 2014.

Urban Areas

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the financial benefit to the Portas Pilot Round 1 and 2 winners as a result of local economic growth following their participation in the Portas Pilot scheme;
	(2)  what proportion of the money allocated to high street partnerships under the Portas Pilots scheme has been spent to date in respect of each of the schemes funded.

Mark Prisk: The Government has given the Portas Pilots a share of £2.4million to spend as and when they see fit to best improve their high streets and encourage residents to shop locally. The main aim of this scheme has been to harness the energy and enthusiasm of local people to breathe new life into the town centres and make them the hearts of their communities once again. It is only when local authorities, businesses and communities work together to use the support and funding available that things will happen on the ground.
	These are long-term projects, and teams are taking a strategic approach that is consciously trying not to splurge all the funding awarded at once. Each plan to rejuvenate a high street will be different. Therefore the way, speed and manner that local teams spend money will be different. Moreover, town teams have leveraged additional funding from other sources including the local authority, in-kind support (such as premises) and free publicity. The Portas Pilots' local authorities are the accountable body responsible for spending, and we have not imposed performance management frameworks to monitor their spend patterns nor are we requiring them to provide assessments of the impact on local economic growth from this specific initiative, reflecting the fact that this Government is committed to reducing top-down reporting burdens on local government.
	Pilots up and down the country are already working together successfully and achieving results, from Rotherham helping local businesses expand and develop, to Loughborough bringing students and local residents on board with a loyalty scheme. But this is just the start, which is why I established the Future High Streets Forum, made up of leading figures from retail, property, business, academics, third sector, civil society and government, to drive forward ideas and policies to help high streets adapt and compete.

Urban Areas

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many of the Portas Pilot (a) Round 1 and (b) Round 2 winners have been visited by (i) Government Ministers and (ii) Mary Portas as part of the Portas Pilot scheme co-ordinated by his Department.

Mark Prisk: Government Ministers committed to visiting the Round 2 Pilots, and to date Ministers have visited four Round 1 and five Round 2 Pilots. Further ministerial visits to Round 2 pilots are scheduled for the coming months.
	The Government has not co-ordinated visits by Mary Portas; these have been arranged independently by Mary Portas' team. Her team advises us that of the first 12 Pilot towns chosen by the Government, all of them have been contacted by the Portas Agency to arrange a visit. To date Mary has visited eight Round 1 and one Round 2 Pilots.

Urban Areas: Regeneration

Roberta Blackman-Woods: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  when he expects to publish the progress report on the first round of Portas pilot projects;
	(2)  what recent assessment he has made of the success of the first round of Portas pilots.

Mark Prisk: A progress report on high streets was published in March 2013:
	http://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/168023/Future_of_High_Streets.pdf
	and a full report will be published in the summer.
	The Government have given the Round 1 Portas pilots a share of £1.2 million to spend as they see fit to improve their high streets and encourage residents to shop locally. The main aim of this scheme has been to harness the energy and enthusiasm of local people to breathe new life into the town centres and make them the hearts of their communities once again
	A lot has been achieved by the Portas pilots already, from Nelson bringing empty shops back into use, to Market Rasen creating an award-winning local market, and Bedminster successfully getting a Business Improvement District approved. These are pilots—they will have successes and failures that we will all learn from. The Pilots were just the start, which is why I have also announced a Future High Streets Forurn,made up of leading figures from retail, property, business, academics, third sector, civil society and government, to drive forward ideas and policies to help high streets thrive and prosper.

Accident and Emergency Departments: North West

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health on how many occasions the accident and emergency waiting time target has been breached in each hospital in the North West in the last 26 weeks for which information is available.

Anna Soubry: The information is not held in the format requested. The number of times the accident and emergency (A&E) waiting time standard (95% within four hours) has been missed in the last 26 weeks (11 November 2012 to 5 May 2013) for each NHS trust in the north-west is shown in the following table:
	
		
			 NHS trust Number of times the A&E standard was missed in the last 26 weeks 
			 5 Boroughs Partnership NHS Foundation Trust 0 
			 Aintree University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 16 
			 Alder Hey Children's NHS Foundation Trust 7 
			 Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 11 
			 Bolton NHS Foundation Trust 11 
			 Bridgewater Community Healthcare NHS Trust 0 
			 Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 14 
			 Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 10 
			 Cumbria Partnership NHS Foundation Trust 1 
			 East Cheshire NHS Trust 16 
		
	
	
		
			 East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust 17 
			 Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 16 
			 Liverpool Community Health NHS Trust 0 
			 Liverpool Women's NHS Foundation Trust 0 
			 Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 9 
			 North Cumbria University Hospitals NHS Trust 21 
			 Oldham PCT Walk-in Centre 0 
			 Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust 11 
			 Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust 0 
			 Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen Hospitals NHS Trust 13 
			 Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust 14 
			 Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust 16 
			 St Helens and Knowsley Hospitals NHS Trust 12 
			 Stockport NHS Foundation Trust 23 
			 Tameside Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 19 
			 University Hospital of South Manchester NHS Foundation Trust 25 
			 University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust 18 
			 Warrington and Halton Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 10 
			 West Lancashire Healthcare Partnership Community CIC 0 
			 Wirral Community NHS Trust 0 
			 Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 21 
		
	
	
		
			 Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust 8 
			 Note: A&E data are not held at hospital site level so data for the relevant hospital trust have been provided. Source: NHS England Unify2 Data Collection Weekly SiteRep

Anaemia

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent discussions he has had with the Cabinet Secretary for Health in Scotland regarding the incidence of aplastic anaemia with idiopathic causes.

Anna Soubry: The Secretary of State for Health, my right hon. Friend the Member for South West Surrey (Mr Hunt), and departmental officials have had no such discussions.

Coeliac Disease

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to mark Coeliac Awareness Week.

Norman Lamb: Clinical commissioning groups are now responsible for commissioning services for people with coeliac disease.
	The Government recognises the importance of the disease and will continue to work with NHS England to drive improvements in the quality of services.

Electronic Cigarettes

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will bring forward plans to restrict the marketing, sales and promotion of electronic cigarettes so that they (a) are only sold to adults at licensed outlets, (b) are only targeted at smokers as a way of reducing smoking or quitting and (c) do not appeal to non-smokers, particularly children.

Norman Lamb: There are a number of products on the market which claim to contain nicotine, such as electronic cigarettes, which are widely and easily available but are not licensed medicines. Currently, any nicotine containing product (NCP) that claims or implies that it can assist in giving up smoking is considered by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to be a medicinal product. This approach has allowed NCPs which do not make such claims to be used and sold without the safeguards built into the regulation of medicines.
	The Government is concerned to ensure that an effective, proportionate regulatory framework exists to protect consumers from any electronic cigarette products that fail to meet acceptable standards for quality, safety and efficacy. The MHRA co-ordinated a programme of research to advise on:
	an investigation of the levels of nicotine which have a significant physiological effect through its pharmacological action;
	the nature, quality and safety of unlicensed NCPs;
	the actual use of unlicensed NCPs (excluding tobacco products) in the marketplace;
	the efficacy of unlicensed NCPs in smoking cessation; and
	modelling of the potential impact of bringing these products into medicines regulation on public health outcomes.
	The MHRA is currently bringing to a conclusion this period of scientific and market research with a view to a final decision on the application of medicines regulation soon.

Organs

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what his policy is on organ allocation;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of variations in organ allocation policies across NHS trusts in England and Wales.

Anna Soubry: The organ allocation system in place works on a United Kingdom-wide basis. It ensures that patients are treated equitably and that donated organs are allocated in a fair and unbiased way. The offering process for organs donated in the UK is specified in NHS Directions given to NHS Blood and Transplant by the Secretary of State for Health, my right hon. Friend the Member for South West Surrey (Mr Hunt), specifically in paragraph four of the NHS Blood and Transplant (2005) Directions and associated guidance. (The Directions can be found at:
	www.organdonation.nhs.uk
	then enter search item “2005 Directions” and click on the first result). The allocation schemes have been developed by the medical profession in consultation with the Department and specialist advisory groups and there are specific allocation systems in place for each type of organ.
	It is the remit of NHS Blood and Transplant, as the national retrieval and allocation organisation for the UK, to offer organs for transplant. Organs from deceased donors in the UK are considered a national resource.
	The schemes prioritise patients with the most urgent need and also take into account factors which influence the chances of a successful transplant, including the age of the donor and recipient, blood and tissue type, physical characteristics (such as height and weight) and the location of the recipient relative to the donor. Transplants are more likely to be successful if undertaken as quickly as possible after retrieval.

Organs

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the proportion of hospital trusts that receive donated organs which allocate donor organs to other trusts;
	(2)  what procedures are in place to enable foundation trusts to (a) offer and (b) access donated organs from other foundation trusts.

Anna Soubry: No estimate has been made of the proportion of hospital trusts that receive donated organs which allocate organs to other trusts.
	The allocation system in place works on a United Kingdom-wide basis and whether a trust is a foundation trust or otherwise has no bearing. There are 28 hospitals in the UK that are licensed to perform solid organ transplants and some of these hospitals transplant more than one type of organ. Organs for transplant in these hospitals are retrieved from over 200 hospitals throughout the UK.
	The allocation systems in place ensure that patients are treated equitably and that donated organs are allocated in a fair and unbiased way. It is the remit of NHS Blood and Transplant, as the national retrieval and allocation organisation for the UK, to offer organs for transplant in line with directions given to them by the Secretary of State for Health, my right hon. Friend the Member for South West Surrey (Mr Hunt).

Homelessness

Sheila Gilmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will meet homelessness organisations to assess the effectiveness of the toolkit for identification of homelessness by Jobcentre Plus Advisers.

Mark Hoban: There is no specific toolkit for the identification of homelessness. However, Jobcentre Plus advisers are equipped with the necessary guidance and training to identify and provide an appropriate level of tailored support for the homeless, as well as other disadvantaged groups. As a priority group, the homeless are able to access additional support through Jobcentre Plus advisers to enter employment, including early access to the Work programme. The guidance which supports Jobcentre Plus advisers is subject to regular review to ensure its effectiveness for helping to tackle homelessness and the barriers it creates to employment.

Poverty: Children

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of disabled children living in poverty in Bassetlaw constituency.

Esther McVey: It is not possible to provide figures for Bassetlaw due to small sample sizes. In 2010-11 across the UK there were 100,000 disabled children living in families with below 60% of relative median income, Before Housing Costs. Figures are rounded to the nearest 100,000. Low income figures are published annually in the Households below Average Income publication available here:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/index.php?page=hbai
	The Government launched a consultation on measuring child poverty on 15 November 2012. The consultation sought views on changing the way child poverty is measured to ensure accurate measurement of the number of children affected in the UK. The Government believes that, in addition to median income, it is important to take other elements into account, such as housing and health. The consultation closed on the 15 February 2013. The responses to the consultation are currently being analysed, and the Government's response will be published in the, summer.

Poverty: Children

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the effects of tax and benefit reforms implemented since 2010 on levels of child poverty.

Esther McVey: I refer the hon. Member to the answers to questions 135069 on 9 January 2013, Official Report, column 312W, 135070 on 9 January 2013, Official Report, column 313W, and 135071 on 9 January 2013, Official Report, column 313W.
	The Government do not believe that measuring income in isolation captures the reality of poverty in the UK, which is why it has consulted on better measures of child poverty. We will publish our response to that consultation in the summer.